Cost Differences Between High School and College

TheGFG
Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:43:17 +0000

We spend less on D’s personal and entertainment expenses. When she was in high school, she didn’t work during the academic year so we bought all her toiletries, over-the-counter medicines and vitamins, school supplies, etc. We also subsidized things like eating out, movie and event tickets, presents for birthday parties attended, etc. Her summer earnings went into savings for college. Since we now have tuition payments and plane fare to cover, and since there’s no room in her suitcase to cart back lots of extraneous supplies, D is using her summer and term earnings to buy these things near campus. She also pays for whatever she does for fun while at school.

Since D is an athlete, her university gives her some workout clothes, pays for her training shoes ($90 every 3 months), and covers medical expenses related to athletics. She can also have her practice clothes washed for free, which she sometimes does. I definitely do less wash, since athletes make a lot of laundry. That all represents a small savings.

But sorry to break it to you, beolein, you aren’t going to come out ahead!